Forty-one persons have now recovered from COVID-19 in Guyana even as no new positive cases of the disease were recorded yesterday.
This announcement was made yesterday during the Ministry of Public Health’s daily COVID-19 update. The update was given by Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle who stated that even as 34 more tests were conducted yesterday bringing the number of persons tested to 1,020, no new cases of the disease were recorded. She also informed that 41 persons have now recovered from the virus while the number of persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit has been reduced to three. Additionally, five persons are in institutional quarantine while 62 are in institutional isolation. She noted that seven of Guyana’s ten administrative regions have now recorded cases of the disease, which she emphasised is what authorities were trying to avoid when they instituted guidelines to limit the spread of the disease. Dr Gordon-Boyle said that the implementation of those guidelines were made with the understanding that, “Limiting the spread of this disease to a few regions would have guaranteed us a quicker resolution.”
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer went on to say that with this development, Guyana’s health system is at risk of becoming overburdened with COVID-19 cases unless Guyanese realise the need to act responsibly. She added that examples from other countries around the world show that slowing the rate of infection came as a result of forceful measures by disciplined citizens participating in stay-at-home, physical and social distancing and other measures.
“I can assure you, that though these guidelines may seem simple and imposing, they worked,” Dr Gordon-Boyle declared. She cautioned that the trends seen in the United States, Italy, China and other countries that were unable to slow to spread of the virus may become a reality for Guyana. While she stated that the situation is worsening in … neighbouring country, Brazil, (at the time of the update they had recorded 800 deaths within 24 hours) she urged the residents of Region Nine to cease the constant unofficial crossing of the border.
Dr Gordon-Boyle also urged Guyanese to make use of the hotlines, online applications and the mobile units in their areas.
